Community Outreach and Engagement Team

Kazeem is originally from Ago Iwoye, Nigeria where he studied Liberal Arts and trained at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism as a Public Relations Expert. Since 2002, he has worked diligently with many Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) medical doctors on health research to enlighten New Yorkers across the 5 boroughs about cancer prevention and general health care support. Through his work as a Public Health Research Worker at Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Community Outreach and Engagement Office (COE), he has been co-authored in three publications published by the Journal of Community Health, Cancer Prevention Research, and Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention. Currently, Kazeem’s aim is to make health care knowledge, specifically cancer and cancer prevention, more accessible to New Yorkers via faith leaders to their congregants by making videos about various health topics in English and his native language, Yoruba, through COE. 

Kimberly Burke holds a BS/MPH in Nutritional Sciences and Environmental Health from the Boston University School of Public Health. Kimberly began her career as a community nutritionist in the Women, Infants and Children program (WIC) in Boston, Massachusetts, where she gained experience providing parents and caregivers with nutrition counseling, creating educational materials, and planning educational events. Following this, she worked as an environmental analyst for the Community Assessment Program at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health where she prepared health consultations on contaminated sites throughout the state and worked on cancer cluster investigations. Her subsequent role as a program coordinator at the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health allowed her to work closely with community organizations, key local and national stakeholders, and research participants on community health education initiatives around common urban pollutants. In her current role as operations manager for COE, she coordinates research projects, assists with event planning and together with COE works closely with community partners to tailor education and outreach programs to the needs of diverse communities.

Maya Lipsman received her Master of Public Health from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in 2019 with a degree in Sociomedical Sciences and a Certificate in Health Communications. As a Senior Project Coordinator at COE, she uses her health communication knowledge to create culturally-relevant educational materials for communities that teach them how to reduce their risk of developing center. She also acts as Project Director for the Cancer Center’s Cancer Prevention in Action (CPiA) grant and oversees its day-to-day activities, tracks and reports on progress, and organizes events.

Born and raised in the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, Milagro Peters migrated to the United States to pursue a degree in Biochemistry and Latin American Studies. During her undergraduate studies, she worked at the Peace Corps where she played a pivotal role in developing essential medical materials for volunteers and enhancing the accessibility of medical records for Peace Corps members. Building on this experience, she pursued a Master of Public Health at Columbia University, specializing in Health Policy and Management. There, she collaborated with community-based organizations, assisting with grant materials and engaging in research focused on risk reduction of chronic diseases in underrepresented communities. Currently, she serves as a project coordinator, working closely with local communities to combat cancer development.

Andria Reyes has an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Health and Behavior Studies from Teacher’s College, Columbia University. Andria has expertise creating and delivering culturally relevant health promotion and disease prevention materials. For the HICCC, she manages the health education program, delivers a suite of health education workshops in English and Spanish, offers research document translation services to the Columbia community, and offers her research expertise to investigators throughout the cancer center. Andria is also part of the HICCC Tobacco Cessation Program and counsels patients as a Tobacco Treatment Specialist. She is currently working on obtaining the national credential for Tobacco Treatment Specialists.

Mary Beth, Professor of Epidemiology, has over 20 years of experience conducting studies examining environmental and lifestyle exposures and how they affect cancer risk.  She is committed to training and is very involved in high school and undergraduate training programs for youth in the local communities.